Destination: Haven
by The Night Storyteller
Summary: The TARDIS lands in Fereldan during the Blight while the Warden and her group are searching for the Urn of Sacred Ashes and a mysterious force manipulates them all from the shadows of a tiny village in the Frostback Mtns. Pairings to follow soon
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue: Cold Mountains**_

It was a cold and snowy night in the Frostback Mountain village of Haven. This was a village of the dark and the bizarre…something that the person walking up to the guard seemed to revel in as he was slightly chuckling as he was walking up.

"Halt," the guard tiredly exclaimed as he was walking up to the stranger.

The stranger stopped as ordered but he didn't stop in his slight amusement at the aura of darkness of the village.

The guard opened his bleary eyes and fully noticed the stranger. The stranger was covered in a black cloak from head to foot. The cowl was obscuring everything from the nose up. Below that was a man's face in very much need of a shave. On the man's feet was a pair of leather boots, useful for a trip up the mountains. The man was still giving the occasional chuckle but otherwise he was trying to keep quiet.

"State your business, stranger." The guard ordered.

The man said nothing, but held up a glowing object in his gloved hands (also leather). The object shined into the guard's eyes, but to the guard, it only lasted a few seconds before he forgot that someone was even standing in front of him.

The stranger walked passed while the guard didn't even notice that someone had walked pass him.

'_Soon, my dear doctor…soon you will find me out. But by then, I will have everyone on this miserable planet dancing to my tune. The darkspawn…the Fereldan nobility…even that annoying Grey Warden and her troupe will be my pawns. Whether they like it…or not…' _The Cloaked Man thought.

And this is it for the prologue. For notes on this story, this is a standalone from the Doctor Who universe and roughly a year before the events in Dragon Age: Origins (at least the prologue is a year off).


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 1: Arrival and Questions**_

The Doctor had been through almost 10 centuries of phone box travel. He'd faced down numerous and deadly enemies in his lifetime: Cybermen, Slitheen, Daleks, Davros, The Master, and Rassilon to name a few. He'd said goodbye to countless friends and family: Donna, Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane, Jenny…Rose. But he had never in his 10 centuries of phone box travel had encountered the withering stare of Amy Pond.

"Well, Doctor…where do we go to _now_?" Amy asked with some force in her voice.

The Doctor started fidgeting with his bow tie as he thought about where they were going to go. He started looking around the control room of the TARDIS when he noticed a button he swore that he would never use again as the last time he did it…was more than a little unpleasant.

"Well, Amy…why don't we let the TARDIS decide this one." The Doctor said as he went to the button that he swore that he would never ever use again.

Amy looked a little shocked as she walked somewhat close to the Doctor. She noticed that he seemed a little apprehensive as he drew nearer to a small black button that wouldn't have seemed out of place on a video game machine.

"Nervous about something, Doctor?" Amy asked as she leaned on the Center Console.

The Doctor looked at her as he was praying (yes actually praying) to almost any god or goddess in the universe and beyond as he hoped that the button would send them to someplace nice for a change.

"You see this button…this button is something that I have never in almost 700 years wanted to press after a…rather disastrous incident involving me and the Queen of Daxonne VII." The Doctor said as he was still contemplating on pushing it.

"What kind of incident?" Amy asked without a clue to his now spreading blush on his face.

"I sort of appeared in the middle of her bath" The Doctor said as he set his hand next to the button, ready to press it.

"So, if you appeared in her bathroom…" Amy said as she was confused.

"No, it was in her bathtub…while she was in it…and it was night…" The Doctor said, hoping that she would get the hint.

Amy continued to look confused before a blush slightly spread across her face and she started gaping like a fish. The Doctor decided that that was enough stalling and pressed the button. There was a loud groaning sound as the TARDIS started to go off into a random destination in space and time.

"DOCTOR! IF WE APPEAR IN SOMEONE'S BATH I'M GONNA…" Amy started shouting before she was drowned out by the TARDIS.

To say Tamara Cousland was having a bad day would garner you with a withering glare. To say that it would get better would just get you laughed at.

'_Great, first Alistair figures out that me and Leliana might just be starting to have something more than a simple friendship with one another. Then Morrigan and Wynne get into a small argument over whether the Chantry has the right to hunt down apostates. Now Sten decides the fact (or is it already knows) that I'm a woman and therefore I can't be on the battlefield as a warrior. Can this day get any worse!"_ Tamara thought as she was looking on at the vast chilly expanse that was the Frostback Mountains.

All of a sudden she started to hear a strange sound. Almost like a sick dragon trying to get one last breath before it dies.

"Of course it can," Tamara said to herself as she got her shield off her back and her sword 'Starfang' off the other slot on the back of her armor.

The others, she noticed, where getting their various weapons and spells ready. Leliana was readying her Ironbark Longbow with a fire arrow, ready to pierce and burn whatever was making the sound. Morrigan was starting her Spider talent from her Shapeshifter spell set, making her an ideal supplement to Tamara's own talents. Wynne held her staff at the ready and moved back from the others incase healing and larger spells were necessary. All in all, the little group was ready for anything.

Suddenly they started to hear voices coming from around the bend in the road.

"Well…" They heard a male voice say with a kind of amusement.

"At least it isn't a bath." They heard a female voice say with a slight accent.

Tamara grew a little curious as she had heard only one other person speak with that accent: Sister Justine at the Denerim Chantry. She motioned for the little group to move forward slowly.

'Remember…Leliana takes first shot before falling back, Wynne stays back with healing and minor offensive spells, Morrigan and I rush in to take damage with Morrigan pulling hit and run and me pulling threat.' Tamara whispered to her group as they took positions.

The small group got closer and heard the female voice say, "But it's also bad that I'm dressed for summer and its bloody freezing out here. Wait here while I change," before they heard something like a door slam shut.

They got close enough to notice a sight that only seemed to confuse them: A strange man standing in front of a blue box.

Morrigan changed back from her spider form with an odd look on her face.

'Morrigan…what is it?' Tamara whispered/asked her friend.

'That one…the 'man' standing there is more than he appears to be. I can sense a…powerful aura around him. Something that screams power beyond measure…and age, and wisdom, and…and danger.' Morrigan said with an ashen face.

Tamara then looked at the man in a closer light. The man had brown hair that looked kind of long for his frame. His general face had given her the impression of Teryn Loghain at a younger age and without a broken nose. He wore some kind of coat with a white shirt of some kind with straps of cloth and metal holding his trousers up. Said trousers were brown and rolled up at the foot and covering some kind of black boot.

What drew Tamara were the eyes: Normal everyday brown like the hair but something was off about them from her view. She noticed that underneath the mirth and knowledge in them, was some kind of…age and experience that she knew that she would never even come close to seeing. She saw people with those kind of eyes once: veterans telling her about their time in the war against Orlais. Their experiences were not pleasant.

'Maker's breath! It's almost like the story of Valan and Dorma. Only this man is both parts.' Leliana exclaimed as she looked.

Wynne had a funny look on her face as she looked at the man. Tamara noticed this and wondered if it was her that had noticed the man in front of the blue box or if it was the spirit in her.

'Wynne?' Tamara asked, again without disturbing the man in the distance.

Wynne took a moment before asking, 'Remember our conversation earlier at camp?"

'Yes…did the spirit helping you encounter this man before?' Tamara asked.

'No…but it senses that this is a…kindred spirit in a way. Almost like it had been with him at one point it it's life.' Wynne said as she started to stand from her crouch.

"You know, if you wanted to talk to me…all you had to do was not skulk around like a bunch of thieves." The man said as he was leaning against the box.

They all stood up and walked towards the man, noticing that he was looking at them from the moment they were looking at him. What surprised them was that the box had the words '_**POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX**_' in bold letters on all four sides of the box…in Fereldan.

"Alright, Doctor…Who are these people?" The redheaded woman asked as she stepped out from the box.

The Doctor had leaned against the TARDIS and noticed that there was a group of four people coming up the path from the trees. The one in the back had on what looked like red robes, had white hair and was carrying a staff. She looked a little odd with rocks falling off of her robes _from nowhere_.

'Kindred spirit of a sort.' The Doctor thought as he went on with his observations.

The redhead with a white/black bow with a fire arrow at the ready whore thick leather armor with studs in it. She looked like she had the air of a monk before he quickly and quietly probed her mind and saw that she had more history than her aura suggested.

'Monk with a dark past…interesting.' Thought the Time Lord as he moved on.

The other one with a staff looked like she didn't even know the concept of modesty as she wore bits and baubles of silk, beads, feathers and ribbons. She had on enough makeup to flaunt her feminine charms and had an air of superiority before she changed into a giant spider.

'Very cool…this is starting to be my favorite destination with the Randomizer.' The Doctor thought as he turned his gaze to the final person in the group, obviously the leader.

The head of the group wore black and gold armor with what looked like silver underlay. The armor had a design of a pair of gryphon back to back with a crown over their head. She, and it was obviously a she from the general look, had dark makeup and dark hair. But what startled him were the eyes. The eyes were the color of chipped ice and held a slight mirth as well as sadness and anger. But there was something else that he noticed from the eyes…the fact that he could immediately sense both her and something _darker_ lurking behind her…like The Master or The Beast.

He knew they were whispering about him…and about the strangeness of the situation. The only thing is…if his memory was correct, than this is the Earth in the year 3 trillion. By this point it was millennia since humanity left their home galaxy. This planet only had sparks and remnants of ages past…and by this point all trace of everything from the past was erased from the Earth itself.

'So why is this presence so familiar?' The Doctor had asked himself as he finished his mini inspection of the newcomers.

"You know, if you wanted to talk to me…all you had to do was not skulk around like a bunch of thieves." The Doctor said as he waited for the group to exit.

The Doctor heard Amy open the door and saw that she had redressed for winter with a winter jacket, long sleeved t-shirt, heavy pants and winter boots.

"Alright, Doctor…Who are these people?" Amy asked as she stepped out from the box.

"Right, Amy Pond…meet our new friends." The Doctor said as he started the introductions.

"I am Morrigan," The dark-haired woman introduced herself.

"I am Leliana," The redhead with the slightly French accent said.

"I am Wynne of the Circle of Magi," Wynne introduced herself.

"Tamara Cousland of the Grey Wardens…now who are you?" The leader of the group asked after her introduction.

"I'm The Doctor and this is Amy." The Doctor introduced himself and Amy.

"I don't understand, Doctor Who?" Wynne asked.

The Doctor smiled and said, "Just the Doctor. So, where are you four heading?"

And that is chapter one.

_**Pairings:**_

_**11/Amy**_

_**Female Cousland/Leliana**_

_**More to follow (Maybe)**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age: Origins or Doctor Who. EA/Bioware and the BBC own these separately.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 2: The Party Line**_

After a little convincing, The Doctor and Amy were allowed to join the little group on their way to Haven.

"So, we're gonna walk with them, huh?" Amy asked as they started to walk away from the TARDIS.

"Yes," The Doctor replied as he started to scan the area with his sonic screwdriver.

"Why can't we just let them come with us into the TARDIS and then it'll be a much shorter trip?" Amy asked, wanting to get the short walk over with.

The Doctor turned around and said, "Because A) I don't know how the radiant energies in their bodies would react to the energies produced by the TARDIS, B) I don't want to answer any questions from this small group about why it's bigger on the inside (at least this time), and C) I have a feeling that something might want to get a better look about what is on the inside."

Amy looked a little put down before walking a little closer to Morrigan.

"Is he always like this?" Morrigan asked as she continued to analyze the man walking slightly closer to their leader.

"Actually he can be nice, just depends on when." Amy answered before moving forward to The Doctor's other side.

Wynne looked at The Doctor a little closer and, for the briefest of moments, thought she saw a man that looked about as old as she was; his hair as white as the mountains and holding a cane instead of nothing at all in his hands. She blinked and for another moment she saw a man with light blonde hair instead of the woodsy brown; with a lighter coat on his body, a red ball in his hand and…a celery stick on his jacket?

'_Maybe I should rest a little more after this adventure to Haven.'_ Wynne thought as she blinked one more time and saw the man that had greeted them back at the blue box.

The sextet had arrived at a staircase that led up to what looked like a trellis with a lantern under it. Tamara had decided to let The Doctor up front since he looked like something of a leader akin to her father or to Arl Eamon. Amy was in the center of the group, looking a little like the noble girls she had met at the various functions her mother tried to drag her off to in the past.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The guard at the trellis had asked in a forceful way.

"Oh, don't mind us. We're just passing through." The Doctor said as he started to walk further into the village proper.

"Oh…don't mind him. He's just the Bann of…" Tamara had started but she didn't know which county to name…if he even had looked like the Bann of a county.

"Lothering…This is Bann Doctar of Lothering and his lovely fiancée Miss Almy Phonde of…" Morrigan added but couldn't finish.

"Val Royeaux…My apprentice from Val Royeaux." Leliana finished, adding a slightly coy smile to her face.

The guard didn't look impressed and said, "Really, well…why stumble over the explanation?"

"Simple, we're touring some places that I came to in my youth and I heard of this place by a friend of mine. The four armed people with me are Wardens who were kind enough to allow us to share in the trip." The Doctor explained as he decided to return to the group after looking around the village center.

The guard gave a slightly cruel smirk as he said, "Alright then…Doctar. All that we ask is that you finish your business quickly and be on your way."

"I do have a question…Where is everybody else in the village?" Leliana asked as she was truthfully curious where the majority of the populace were at.

"Simple, they're at the Chantry where Father Eirik is holding services." The guard said matter-of-factly.

"A Revered…Father?" Leliana asked with surprise in her voice.

The Doctor looked oddly at Leliana and said, "Well, let's not dwell on such small matters. Shall we?"

The rest of the group looked at Tamara, who simply said, "Okay…let's go."

As they left, the guard's evil smirk got larger as he watched them leave. No one had noticed that his eyes were slightly glowing as well.

As the group was walking towards the village center, The Doctor had stopped and turned to Leliana.

"You seemed surprised at the fact that the village has a 'Revered Father'…why?" The Doctor asked.

"You don't understand, there has never been a 'Revered Father' in the Chantry. The only ones that even consider having a 'Revered Father' are the Imperial Chantry in The Tevinter Imperium. The spiritual leaders of the Chantry are almost always 'Revered Mothers'. Even The Divine is a woman." Leliana explained with worry in her voice.

"Seriously? All the preachers and priests are women?" The Doctor asked with surprise in his voice.

Amy looked on slightly as she noticed that a light had just exploded behind The Doctor's eyes. She may be new to travel in a time machine but she was starting to get the hang of knowing when The Doctor's interest was piqued when there was a mystery.

"Maybe this 'Imperium' has control of the village?" Amy had pondered aloud.

Tamara, Wynne, and Leliana had shaken their heads.

"Impossible…beside's their style is to come in with a full military detachment and establish a military base before changing the local religion." Tamara said, her studies with Scribe Aldous and Ser Gandran the Knight had paid off.

"Right, so…no invasion," The Doctor had said off-hand before noticing a boy wandering around the path up the mountain and muttering to himself.

'Stupid…ugh, I'm old enough…I can prove to Father Eirik that I'm ready to go up the mountain to…' Thomas muttered to himself before he noticed that a strangely dressed man was approaching him and a larger group approaching behind him.

"Um…sorry to interrupt your little rant but I couldn't help but notice that you're talking about the mountain. Why do you want to go to the mountain?" The man asked.

"I'm sorry but I'm not allowed to talk to strangers." The boy said, hoping the man would just go away.

"I'm not a stranger; I'm The Doctor, This is Amy, Tamara Cousland, Morrigan, Wynne, and Leliana. Now, why do you want to go to the mountain?" The Doctor asked as he introduced himself and the group behind him.

Thomas looked at the man, in complete disbelief at someone being friendly, and said, "Well…there's the chapel to Andraste up there near the peek…"

"Wait, the Chantry is near the peak of the mountain?" Leliana asked in disbelief herself.

"No, I mean the real chapel of the village is up near the peak of the mountain…where Andraste lives." Thomas said.

Wynne spoke up next, saying, "Young man, you are mistaken. The Chantry, as well as all the people in Fereldan know that Andraste had died by being burned at the stake by the ancient Tevinter Imperium."

Thomas looked at Wynne with amusement before saying, "You are mistaken then…cause everyone here knows that Andraste lives at the top of the mountain. That's were Father Eirik says the chapel is at."

"Right then…I think it's time that we had a talk with this 'Father Eirik'." The Doctor said as he head up the stairs to the Chantry.

The others followed behind The Doctor, not knowing that the child ran off to a woman that came outside of her home.

"Did you tell them?" The woman asked the child.

Thomas shook his head, eyes beginning to glow like the guard.

"Good, I'll inform Lord Kyne of the news." The woman said before going back inside of her building.

And that's chapter two.

Pairings declared in chapter one.

Disclaimer in Prologue and Chapter One.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 3: False Chanters are Dangerous to Their Health**_

As they ascended the mountain staircase to the Chantry in Haven, The Doctor had an uneasy feeling as they got closer; the feeling that something familiar was at work…something that was pretending to be something else in his past.

'_It's not the Slitheen; they take overweight people to hide their appearance. It isn't the Cybermen, they'd have had advanced tech welded to these people's ears by now…Definitely not the Daleks, they just kill people and move on. The Master's stuck with Rassilon and the Time Lords…don't know whether I'd be overjoyed or sorry about that one. Sontaran's…no. They'd be interested in a planet like this but I don't think they have the means, motive, or ideas for this whole thing in the first place.'_ The Doctor thought, trying to piece together who would do something like using Darkspawn taint as a cover for something else.

The Doctor wasn't the only one who was trying to piece together the mystery; Amy was trying to piece together her own puzzle from a different angle.

'_Okay, The Doctor's worried about something…and when The Doctor is worried, then everyone should worry. But what's he worried about. Tamara? No, she's almost like a rock. Leliana? No…bit of a nutter, but not that bad. Wynne? No, she's almost like a grandmother…but with enough spells in her head to make sure no one messes with her. That only leaves Morrigan. But the only thing wrong about Morrigan is that she's just a bit on this shy on modesty…and that side of annoying with her 'Twas' and her 'Tis'._ Amy though, trying to piece the whole puzzle.

But The Doctor and Amy weren't the only ones to be thinking about their current situation. Tamara was also trying to piece together what was going on about the village in general and The Doctor in particular.

'_Not even five minutes and The Doctor has integrated himself into our little group…but there's something else that I don't trust about him. He knows something about what's going on…like why every warning sense in my body is telling me this entire village is full of darkspawn when I can clearly see that they are normal people…if a little secretive. Also, why is it that something in me is also telling me not to trust The Doctor even though he's been almost better then Alistair on a good day. Maybe if I slow a little I can get the thoughts of the others.' _Tamara thought as she slowed down to talk to the other three.

'So, any thoughts on what's going on?' Tamara asked in a whisper.

Morrigan was the first to voice her opinions, 'Well, I don't know if this is relevant but I keep getting a sense of danger from the village…almost like something is watching us through the eyes of the people there.'

Tamara nodded before she looked at Wynne.

'Well, does anyone find it odd that everyone here in the village is a little jumpy at our arrival and a little excited at The Doctor's?' Wynne asked.

'I'd say almost as giddy as schoolboys at the fact of The Doctor's arrival with us.' Leliana added.

'Speaking of The Doctor…any thoughts?' Tamara asked.

Morrigan bit her lip and looked off to the side.

'Morrigan,' Tamara said, wanting to know the reason.

Morrigan steeled herself before saying, 'I think he is a person to keep an eye on. I sense great power from him. Almost as great…nay, greater, then The First Enchanter. Also…does anyone also see him…change?'

Wynne let out a small gasp in surprise.

'Wynne,' Tamara asked.

'Well, I don't want to seem out of place…but every so often, I look at The Doctor and I see someone else in his place. More recently someone in a long brown overcoat and a strange suit with lines down the entire outfit…and strange shoes.' Wynne said, describing what she saw.

Tamara shook her head and thought, _'Great…what else can happen.'_

Their arrival at the Chantry was, for lack of a better word, interrupting for the townsfolk inside the building. Father Eirik looked at the group of six with curiosity, worry, and excitement. But it wasn't because of the fact that trespassers were interfering with the sacrifice of Brother Genitivi to Andraste…but it was the fact that The Doctor was in that little band.

Oh, he knew about their arrival from the gate guards from earlier. And he also knew about the green glow that was infusing the village. Hell, he was there when Kolgrim had made a pact with the man who brought the glow. The thing that he did with the people of the villagers was borderline blood magic…but then again he'd seen worse in the course of his duties as the head of the Chantry in Haven. It was time to do as the man in green had instructed, and removed The Doctor from Haven.

The Doctor and party entered the Haven Chantry and noticed the 'Revered Father' in the middle of services. The only difference was that the people with him in the services were villagers who set his finely tuned danger sense off at an alarming rate; The Father more than the villagers.

After dismissing his flock, The Father had turned his attention over to The Doctor and company.

"Well, this is certainly something of a rare treat. A fallen Teyrn's daughter, a dark witch who could be greater then she is, a possessed corpse of a woman…and a mage at that, an insane former Sister who used to be a bard, and two people from a different era in our history." Eirik said to the group.

The Doctor looked at Eirik and said, "Well, you know us…but the question is, _who are you_?"

Eirik smirked and said, "Revered Father Eirik of the Haven Chantry."

"Don't give me that…really, who are you? Are you from Raxicoricofalipatorius? Clom? Do you answer to Cybercontrol? Davros? The Daleks? Really, who are you?" The Doctor had persisted in his questioning.

Father Eirik's smirk had gotten wider as he said, "I really don't know what you're talking about, Doctor."

Now The Doctor smirked as he said, "Ah, but how do you know my name if we didn't get the chance to introduce ourselves."

Father Eirik had went from smirk to scowl as he said, "The gate guards told me…and what a poor job of concealment, too. 'Bann Doctar and Almy Phonde of Val Royeaux', really."

But The Doctor was in full reveal mode. He turned right from the group and stood next to a walled up doorway.

"Really…but answer me this: What's behind this door here?" The Doctor asked the now sweating Father Eirik.

"_**NOTHING**_…ahem, nothing…nothing that you six should worry over. Now just step away from that door, Doctor and we'll finish this conversation peacefully." Eirik said with something darker in his voice.

The Doctor's smirk grew a tiny bit as he said, "Well, if it's nothing then I shouldn't be able to do…_THIS!_"

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the walled up doorway. Pressing a single button, the device had screamed in its own way. Suddenly, a door popped open and inside a mini-Library was a balding middle-aged man with a broken leg strapped to some kind of chair. On the back of the chair was a device that was attached to the man's head. With the brickwork pulled away everyone heard him screaming, like he was being tortured.

"What the…?" Tamara stood agape.

"Maker…" Leliana stood beside Tamara in disgust.

"What…?" Wynne simply asked.

Morrigan was shocked beyond words. For the first time in her life she didn't know what to say.

'_Even Flemeth wasn't as cruel as this person inflicting this torture on this person.'_ Morrigan thought.

"Now, where are you from Father Eirik?" The Doctor asked.

The Father looked around and saw the disgust building in everyone's faces. The person closest to him was the fair Almy or whatever her name was. In a move of desperation he moved fast and snagged Amy by the neck and had one hand armed with a dagger and the other over Amy's mouth to keep her quiet.

The group responded with Tamara drawing her sword and shield, Wynne drawing her staff, Morrigan drawing her staff, and Leliana drawing her bow.

"Now, now…we don't want anything hasty done to this human…now do we?" Father Eirik asked as he was walking to the back of the room to a tapestry.

The Doctor looked at Amy, then toward the back of the room at the tapestry. The Doctor had walked carefully over to Leliana.

'Whatever you do, don't shoot.' The Doctor whispered to the archer.

'Why, I have a clear shot at his head?" Leliana whispered back.

'Because we need him alive to answer some questions…questions that won't be answered if he dies.' The Doctor whispered.

"_**STOP WHISPERING! Now, the girl and I are going to walk out of here without anyone following us. If I see so much as a hair of any of you following, she dies.**_" Father Eirik demanded, the darkness in his voice returning.

"Sorry, but there is something that I want to know before you go," The Doctor said as he went over to the drinks cabinet near the tapestry.

"_**Really…and what's that?**_" Father Eirik asked.

The Doctor took a bottle of liquor out of the cabinet and held it next to the sonic screwdriver.

"Can you survive something that has been tripled in flammability?" The Doctor asked as he stood between the tapestry and Father Eirik.

The group was now at a loss to see what would happen, The Doctor stood between the Abomination that was Father Eirik and its freedom from the chapel; his only weapon was a bottle of liquor that had been increased in flammability three-fold. The only question would be if he were to call the creature out on such a destructive weapon.

"_**Well Doctor…state your terms.**_" Father Eirik said in defeat.

"Amy goes free and you tell us who you are." The Doctor said with certainty.

"_**The girl goes free…as to my identity…well…ascend the mountain, there you will find your answers…and maybe something more, Warden Cousland.**_" Father Eirik said before letting Amy go.

After he did, The Father had dropped to his knees. Shortly afterward, the creature died.

"I'm surprised that worked," The Doctor said.

Amy marched up to The Doctor and shouted, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'I'M SURPRISED THAT WORKED'!"

"Tried that trick once; didn't work out like I'd hoped." The Doctor admitted sheepishly.

What the group didn't expect was the hearty laughter of one Warden Tamara Cousland.

After a few seconds of laughter that turns to chuckling, Tamara said, "Oh, come on. Tell me someone didn't find that funny!"

And that's chapter 3. Hope you like it.

Disclaimers were in earlier chapters.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 4: Mountains, Reavers and Dragons, Oh My!**_

"Now, time to free Brother Genitivi," The Doctor said as he went to work on freeing the man from the torture device.

The Doctor ran up to the device that held Brother Genitivi and started to undo the various contraptions and manacles attached to the poor scholar. The man, after his release, collapsed into The Doctor's arms.

"Thank you…another minute in that thing and I would have done anything to make the pain stop." Genitivi said to The Doctor.

The Time Lord looked bemused before saying, "Well, not anything I'd wager."

Genitivi looked at The Doctor and said, "Yes…anything. According to the people who strapped me into this chair, the device looks at your memories and then makes you relive the worst moments in your life for as long as you are connected to it."

Tamara walked over to the scholar and asked, "How long have you been in this…monstrosity?"

Genitivi looked over to her and asked, "What is today?"

"5 Ferventis 9:30 Dragon," Wynne replied immediately.

"Wednesday," The Doctor said.

Everyone but Amy looked at The Doctor.

"…Oh…never mind." The Time Lord said as he walked over to another door in the back of Genitivi's holding area.

He walked behind a bookcase and saw some kind of residue on the floor near a tapestry. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started examining it.

'_Hm…Krillitane oil…But what do the Krillitane want here? Due to the energy levels they can't select traits from anything here on the planet. Nothing but…'_ The Doctor thought until he had a revelation.

He turned and looked at Tamara as she was talking with her friends.

'_Of course…Now it all makes sense. What hides as Darkspawn Taint…nothing, that's what.' _The Doctor thought as he stared at Tamara.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" Tamara asked as she finally noticed that The Doctor was staring at her.

The Doctor smiled and said, "Nothing…nothing at all. So, shall we ascend the mountain?"

The group wandered up the stairs after Genitivi had been assisted up by Amy and Tamara.

"The door is just ahead. You need a medallion to open the door." Genitivi said as Amy and Tamara sat him down by the door.

Tamara opened her pack and asked very cheeky, "You mean this medallion?"

Everyone, excluding Wynne and Genitivi, chuckled.

"Yes…where did you get this?" Genitivi asked.

The mages in the group looked over to Leliana, who asked, "What?"

"Come now, 'Once a thief, always a thief' as Flemeth would say." Morrigan said.

"Actually I took it off the Father when he was holding Amy." Tamara said.

The group looked over to Tamara.

"What, you don't think everyone at Castle Cousland was Knights, Teryns, and Scholars did you? One of my favorite teachers was Varolin from the Highever Alienage. She was a fourth generation Duelist from Denerim who moved to Highever for her husband." Tamara reminisced, fondness in her voice.

"So?" Amy asked.

Leliana chuckled before saying, "Duelists, Assassins, Bards and Rangers are all Rogues…or as we call them is Val Royeaux, 'Voleur'."

"Oh," Amy said before walking up to The Doctor.

'Translated, 'Voleur' means 'Thief'.' The Doctor whispered to Amy.

'Ah, wait, why didn't the TARDIS translate like it usually does?' Amy asked in a whisper.

'Simple, I don't want our bad guy to discover the abilities of the TARDIS.' The Doctor answered.

Amy looked confused before asking, 'I though Father Eirik was our baddie?'

'No…and I'm liking even less at who is.' The Doctor replied before walking up to Tamara.

"So, let's open up the doors and see who it is that wants to keep everyone from the mountain." The Doctor said as he and Tamara walked up to the door.

Two figures were observing all this from a boiling cauldron from the center of a chamber farther up the mountain. One was Kolgrim, the leader of the people of Haven and the only one spared from the fate of entrapment by the person beside him. Sure, the people were still moving around the village and were still loyal to him and Andraste the High Dragon…but they were now sharing their bodies with another creature; a creature that was brought here by the 'man' beside him.

"When they open the doors, have the group escorted by the Reavers to the main chamber here." The cloaked man said as he walked back to a vanity set.

Kolgrim looked over to a nearby mage that had been…repurposed from her duties at the Circle Tower.

"You heard Lord Kyne, tell the Reavers the message." Kolgrim told the mage.

The mage bowed her shaved head and said, "At once, Master Kolgrim."

Kolgrim looked over to Kyne, thinking all the while.

'_Andraste's blessed flames…even I would not resort to plucking people from the very air and depositing them in the possession chamber.'_ Kolgrim thought warily.

"Relax, Kolgrim…even if The Doctor were to figure out every little possibility in our plans, he would not only have to fight off the entire village and the soldiers that we created, he would also have to face you, me and Andraste." Kyne said as he kept looking at himself in the mirror.

Kolgrim crossed his arms and said, "Yes, but the only reason all this is possible is because of you. If he defeated you; the village, the soldiers _AND_ Andraste would awaken from the enforced sleep that you had imposed onto them. It would only be seconds before I would have a full scale revolt on my hands."

Kyne pulled the hood back and said, "Well, it's good that you would be meeting with The Doctor first then."

Kolgrim looked at the man, slightly repulsed by his slicked back brown-ish grey hair and steel grey eyes.

"Now, you get everything ready. I will be along in a moment." Kyne said as he turned back to the mirror and stared back at the mirror.

The group, once inside the enormous main hall of the temple, sat Genitivi down and stared in wonder at the beauty of the building.

"It the building is this beautiful now, I wonder how much better it would look when it was new?" Genitivi asked as he too was amazed at the grandeur of the hall.

"Good question…better question, who are those people there at the top of the stairs?" The Doctor asked as he noticed a group of people at the top of the stairwell.

The group turned and looked at the stairs.

"Great…more trouble. Is this normal for you, Doctor?" Morrigan asked.

"Pretty much," The Doctor said as he started to walk up to the center of the hall.

Amy added, "Actually, from what I gather this is all the time with him."

The rest of the group walked behind The Time Lord as a woman with a shaved head walked up to The Doctor.

"Maura…why are you here?" Wynne asked, looking surprised as she did.

Tamara turned to Wynne and asked, "You know this woman?"

Wynne shook her head yes, still in a kind of shock.

"Wynne, whoever that is standing before us is not your Maura. My guess is that she either is dead and something is wearing her form or she's under some kind of control like they were trying to do with Genitivi." The Doctor told the old mage as he walked up to the woman.

"Master Kolgrim and Lord Kyne extend their greetings to you Lord Doctor." The enchanted Maura told The Doctor.

The Doctor frowned for a second before saying, "And what do they want…besides greetings."

"They wish for you to follow The Reavers of Andraste and myself to the Main Birthing Chamber. The details are for them alone to discuss with you." Maura responded.

Leliana spoke up and said, "This could be a trap."

The Doctor smirked before saying, "Why not, besides…could never resist a good invite to a bad place."

After a long walk up to the chamber, they were all seated right next to a bubbling cauldron.

"Well, it's been a long time since anyone came, willingly, to the Temple of Andraste. I am Kolgrim, the leader of this holy place." Kolgrim said as he entered the room.

The Doctor smiled as he said, "Yeah, and since I assume you know who all of us are we can skip the pleasantries."

Kolgrim smirked as he said, "Very observant, Doctor."

"Isn't that hard really, now, answer me this: why are the Krillitane here in this part of the galaxy in this time period? You know as well as I do that the Krillitane can't take any form here on the planet at this point in time because of the ambient energies here." The Doctor wondered as he stood up and started strolling about the room.

"Actually, Doctor, he isn't the one that you should be asking." A voice said from the shadows.

The Time Lord turned around and said, "I figured that you would be back Brother Lassar. But something about this whole plan is confusing; what are you doing here if it's not to conquer the human race, the dragons, or the darkspawn?"

Kyne smirked before asking, "Really Doctor, Have I changed that much that you can't remember one of your oldest friends?"

The Doctor looked off in thought for a few seconds before saying, "That's impossible…everyone either died or was locked in the Time War."

Amy looked over to Leliana and asked, 'Ever get the feeling that we've been caught-up in one of The Doctor's old memories?'

Leliana just shook her head and continued to watch as the events unfolded.

"Almost everyone died or was Time Locked. I was on the planet Gravos 12 in the year 16/peach/.5." Kyne said as he walked closer to The Doctor.

"Observer, I had no choice." The Doctor said as he walked backwards a little bit.

"I know Doctor, just like I had no choice to enslave all these people and the dragon that they worshiped. Everyone has choices, It just depends on what we choose that matters." Observer said as he walked backwards towards the wall.

Kolgrim looked on in confusion as he saw 'Kyne' near the door to the outside.

"What are you doing?" Kolgrim asked in confusion.

"Giving you your just reward, Kolgrim; Reavers…Attivare." Observer said as he opened the door and ran.

Immediately, the Reavers and everyone else that had undergone the procedure had stood stiff as a board and walked over to Kolgrim.

The Doctor hung his head as he saw that the enslaved had started tearing Kolgrim apart.

"Doctor, do something!" Amy shouted as she and the others watched Kolgrim being torn to shreds.

The Doctor shook his head and said, "There's nothing I can do for him…but I can stun them while we escape to the back door and confront The Observer for this."

The Doctor raised his Sonic Screwdriver up into the air and pressed a button. Immediately, the screeching from the device dropped the slaves. Everyone wasted no time in running to the back door and ran up the built-in footholds towards the outside.

"Your too late, Doctor. Soon, the infection will spread from Haven. Genitivi already has the first signs of this. Even your friend Tamara is starting to show the symptoms." Observer said as the group approached the gong.

Everyone looked at Tamara as she looked on towards The Observer and said, "What sickness?"

"The Reaver Taint is similar to The Darkspawn Taint; the only difference is that The Reaver Taint is much more refined and is much more potent than The Darkspawn Taint. Both of these combined should even topple your formidable will Ms. Cousland." Observer said as he raised the mallet to strike the gong.

Leliana tackled the Observer and started to beat the man with her fists. The Observer countered with a punch to the jaw before getting up and running to the gong. Morrigan changed into a bear and lunged at The Fallen Time Lord. Observer leaped over the transformed mage and continued towards the summoning gong. Wynne created a small earthquake in the Observer's general area. Observer took a running leap over a pair of rocks and missed the area where the spell affected. He had just made it to the gong when he ran into Tamara.

"You decide it…right here, right now: Life or Death." Tamara said as she drew Starfang.

Observer smirked and said, "It doesn't have to be like this, Tamara. Unlike your friends and The Doctor, I can give you everything you ever wanted: your family, your name, your home…Iona…everything."

Tamara hesitated for a moment as the world around her turned into a haze of colors and sounds. For a moment, her brother was standing beside her with a kind grin. A moment later, her father and mother were both in front of her with love in their eyes. Later still, Iona…her eyes caring and loving stare back at her. But it was this image that woke the alarms inside of The Warden.

"_**What…no, stop this…you're supposed to be in a state of blissful peace."**_ The Observer's voice said in her mind.

'_Not yet…not your time, young one…'_ Another, far older and benevolent voice said in her mind.

'_**Time's up Teryna Cousland. Time to go…'**_ A third voice, this being The Doctor, said in her mind.

The colors and sounds around her faded into a white light that was everywhere around her. Observer and Doctor both looking at her, one with malice while the other with quiet strength.

Observer walked over to her and said, "If you leave, you'll never have the things that you want. You'll more than likely die in the service to Fereldan but that's it, no more. Join me, and together we can do it all: Make Loghain die for his crimes Duncan and the Wardens, Make Howe die for his crimes against your family, make The Darkspawn die for ruining your world. Everyone would learn to fear the Cousland name, from here to Wiesshaupt and Par Vollen. All would bow down to Empress Tamara Cousland and no one would stand in your way!"

Tamara turned to The Doctor.

"Well, I can't compete with 'Empress'…but you know as well as I do what really would happen with that." The Doctor said simply with a smirk.

Tamara looked at both The Fallen Time Lord and The Last Time Lord. Then she turned around and looked at a mirror that had appeared behind her. One half of the reflection showed a woman that had a crazed look in her eye and blood covering her armor. The other half of the reflection showed a woman with a noble look in her eye as she stared back at her. Both were smirking; one with evil malice, the other with a noble, knowing smirk. Tamara returned the smirk as she turned back around.

She walked up to The Observer, and punched him in the face.

"That's for messing with my mind," Tamara started as she pulled back for another hit.

Her second hit was a kick to the stomach.

"That's for trying to turn me against my friends," Tamara said as she pulled him from the ground.

"And this is for ruining my day." Tamara said as she kneed him in the groin.

The white light faded and showed her back at the mountaintop with the gong. The Observer was unconscious on the ground and everyone, minus The Doctor, looked at her in shock.

"I'd say that's good…anyone else?" Amy asked as she looked at the others in the group.

The Doctor however walked over to the gong and started scanning it with the Sonic Screwdriver.

"Interesting…" The Doctor said as he kept scanning it.

"What Doctor?" Morrigan asked as she made her way towards The Time Lord.

The Time Lord turned to her and said, "This gong was made of a special material…no doubt made to control the dragon."

Tamara walked up to the gong with her sword in her hand.

"WAIT!" The Doctor shouted as he tried to stop her.

Tamara pulled back and smashed the gong with her sword.

"Problem solved." Tamara said as she sheathed her weapon.

Not two seconds later, the dragon roared as she turned back to the group. They all looked up and saw a giant red dragon flying in a circular motion and land on the ground in between them and the temple proper.

The Doctor smiled as he said, "Hello, there!"

Surprisingly, the dragon replied, **"GREETINGS, OLD ONE."**

And that is chapter four. Sorry it took so long, my inspiration took a break.

Disclaimers from other chapters.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 5: The Dragon and The Gauntlet**_

The Doctor looked up and said back to it, "Greetings, yourself…old girl!"

The Dragon, for what could be seen of its muzzle, looked like it had blushed before saying, **"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK, OLD ONE. THOUGH LAST I SAW OF YOU, YOU HAD APPEARED OLDER WITH A SILLY OUTFIT AND CLAIMED YOU WERE THREE TIMES AS OLD AS MY MOTHER."**

The Doctor chuckled before asking, "Yeah…well we've both gotten older, haven't we?"

The group turned and looked at The Time Lord in both shock and fear.

"Oh don't look at me like that. This is Savala…or as she's known to the cultists here "Andraste". I met her ages upon ages ago. Although that was back in the other direction of time if I believe." The Doctor said while looking up at the High Dragon with a knowing smirk.

"**WELL, DRAGONS SLUMBERING UNDERNEATH THE SILURIANS IN HYBERNATION WILL DO THAT…AS WELL AS HAVING THE EIGHT ELDERS TELEPATHICALLY OBSERVING EVENTS IN THE WORLD OF MAN." **Savala replied before The Doctor looked confused.

"According to all of my information, there were only seven 'Old Gods': Dumat, Zazikel, Toth, Andoral, Uthemial, Razikale and Lusacan." The Doctor said before he looked at his old friend with curiosity.

"**THERE ARE EIGHT ELDERS, OLD ONE; DUMAT, ZAZIKEL, TOTH, ANDORAL, UTHEMIAL, RAZIKALE, LUSACAN, AND ASHA'BELLANAR. OF THOSE MENTIONED, FIVE HAVE CONTRACTED THE DARKSPAWN TAINT AND NEEDED TO BE PUT DOWN FOR THEIR MADNESS, TWO STILL SLUMBER AND AWAIT THE REUNION, AND ONE…ASHA'BELLANAR, HAS BEEN STOPPED BUT NOT DEFEATED." **Savala mentioned to The Time Lord while Morrigan looked at both the dragon and The Doctor with confusion and horror.

"Morrigan, are you alright?" Amy asked as the Wild Witch backed up.

"This is _IMPOSSIBLE_! I read Flemeth's Grimoire and it did not mention the fact that she was an old dragon. She is a spirit that jumps from daughter to daughter when she nears her end!" Morrigan exclaimed in shock and horror.

"**DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT DRAGONLING? IN ACTUALLITY IT IS HOW THE ELDERS MASK THEMSELVES INTO THEIR OWN CHILDREN. EVEN THE DRAGON BEHIND THE OLD ONE HAS A PART OF THE ELDER DRAGONBLOOD INSIDE OF HER. NOT JUST OF THE DARKSPAWN TAINT BUT ACTUALL DRAGONBLOOD IN HER VEINS."** Savala told the group as they looked first at Morrigan then at Tamara.

"Wait…The Cousland line does not have dragon blood in it…does it?" Tamara asked as she looked at Savala in confusion.

"**OF COURSE YOU HAVE DRAGONBLOOD IN YOU DRAGON. ASHA'BELLANAR JOINED WITH FLEMETH ALL THOSE AGES AGO. TECHNICALLY, BOTH YOU AND THE DRAGONLING SHARE THE SAME LINE!"** Savala said cheerfully as she turned back to The Doctor.

"Well, that's as demoralizing a thought as I've ever heard." Morrigan said as she started to walk back.

"Wait Morrigan…I think it's somewhat refreshing that I might not be the last Cousland." Tamara said as she sat down to think.

Morrigan stopped and looked a little stunned at the care that she heard in her…friend's voice.

"Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is that if you start squabbling over who is the elder sibling I will be quite cross." Morrigan said with slight humor as she sat next to her friend.

Tamara chuckled before she said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything…sis."

"Don't start," Morrigan said as she returned the chuckle.

The Doctor looked on in amusement before he turned back to the High Dragon and asked, "So, if that is everything…"

"**WAIT OLD ONE! BEFORE I DEPART TO LET YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY, I MUST TELL YOU SOMETHING OF GREAT IMPORTANCE. AN ENEMY OF OLD HAS SET PLANS IN MOTION FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS PLANET. A WAR THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN WILL OCCUR IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THOSE OF THE HOLY AND THOSE THAT ARE REVILED BY THE HOLY WILL TEAR THEMSELVES ASUNDER. ASHA'BELLANAR FORSAW THIS WHEN SHE MERGED WITH FLEMETH…IT IS WHY SHE SET IN MOTION EVENTS THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE WAR. SHE KNEW THAT WITHOUT EVENTS OCCURING LIKE THEY WERE THEN ALL THE WORLD WOULD BE DESTROYED. HER DEFEAT WAS FORSEEN AND WAS PREPAIRED FOR…HER DRAGONLING OFFERING SALVATION TO THE DRAGON AND HER BROOD WAS FORSEEN…AND THE FACE OF THE OLD ENEMY WAS FORSEEN." **Savala told her old friend.

"Then show me, old friend. Show me what was foreseen." The Doctor replied as he walked up to the lowering head of the dragon.

The Time Lord placed his hands on either side of the high dragon's right eye as they both closed their eyes.

_Planets swirl by at the speed of light, lights shine around the vastness of the Milky Way; each light feels like an eye observing everyone on the planets, the lights group themselves into four lights in an eye socket form, the golden lights feel old with age and coldness beyond measure._

_The eyes swirl and the form changes to an old city inside the ground. A lost city to the dwarves that even they forgot…or were all brainwashed to forget until the right time. An artifact left as a final link to the golden aged eyes. The artifact designed to be the ultimate trap and the ultimate victory for the eyes._

_The scene swirls a final time; a woman in heavy armor with a sort of crown on the top of her head, a giant sword in her hand made from the artifact. Another woman, in different armor from the artifact wielding woman, standing up to her, stopping her from making the same mistakes that another who wielded the artifact had made. The action around them stops as they both look to him, arms outstretched as if they both want him to help. Right in between both, an elven woman with dark hair, green eyes and tattoos on her face in between them both with her arms open like he should know her from somewhere._

The Doctor removed his arms from Savala and looked stunned.

"**THIS IS WHAT I'VE SEEN FROM ASHA'BELLANAR. I THOUGHT YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND IT BETTER THAN I WOULD."** Savala said before she backed up and was preparing to leave.

"I do…and trust me; I'll stop this…if I can." The Doctor said as he walked back to the group.

"**ASHA'BELLANAR SAID THAT AN OLD ONE WOULD SAY THAT SOMEDAY. SHE ALSO SAID THAT IF AN OLD ONE SAID THAT TO DIRECT THEM TO SUNDERMOUNT IN A YEAR'S TIME AFTER THE BLIGHT IS OVER. I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE YOU, MY FRIEND. THIS WILL BE THE LAST THAT WE SEE OF EACH OTHER."** Savala said as she started to fly off.

"WHY?" The Time Lord shouted/asked as the High Dragon flew off.

The others in the group didn't hear what was said in the end.

As The Doctor walked up to the group, Amy asked, "What'd she say?"

"She said that the age of the actual dragons would end soon." The Doctor said before they all got up.

"If I remember right, there are still seventy years before the Dragon Age closes." Wynne chose to reply.

"Not the calendar year but the time when actual dragons will finally disappear from the face of the planet." The Doctor said as they all walked to the chamber containing Andraste's Ashes.

Amy, half-joking, asked, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, she also said that the chamber in there held something of great importance to me." The Doctor said as the neared the door to The Gauntlet.

The sextet entered The Gauntlet lobby and noticed a single figure standing as a guard. The figure was wearing very shiny armor and had a greatsword on his back. The guard looked at the group before he saw both Tamara and The Doctor.

"Welcome, I am the Guardian of the Urn of Sacred Ashes. I also wish you well Lord Doctor." The Guardian said as the group looked on at The Doctor in shock.

"Why do you want to wish me well?" The Doctor asked.

The Guardian looked at The Time Lord before saying, "Andraste had said a friend of hers from ages past would show with five others; four from this realm and one from 'the old times' as she had described it."

The Doctor looked at The Guardian and started scanning him with his sonic screwdriver.

"Doctor?" Amy asked as he stared on in slight shock.

"This is impossible…I mean, your nothing more than a projection of someone from long ago but the source of this projection is decades old…almost like someone wanted this to run." The Doctor said as he finished his scans.

"I merely guard The Bride of the Maker, Lord Doctor." The Guardian said before he turned to the rest of the group.

"Only two other people called me 'Lord Doctor'; one's trapped in a Time Lock, the other's unconscious on the ground. Now who are you?" The Doctor demanded.

"All in good time, Lord Doctor, I must administer The Gauntlet to these four pilgrims before us." The Guardian said before turning to The Warden and her friends.

"Tamara Cousland…if I may ask a question?" The Guardian asked to start the trial.

The Warden looked nervous before she said, "You may,"

"You faced such hardship and still see the faces of your parents as well as the face of Arl Howe, the betrayer of your family. Do you regret the fact that your parents had died and you could do nothing to save them?" The Guardian asked.

Tamara thought a moment before replying, "If you're asking if I doubt myself for not seeing Howe's treachery before it took the life of my mother and father then no, I don't. To live in that kind of paranoia will only leave a person with an empty heart and a maddened mind. If you're asking if I feel grief at their loss…every day…but I also keep in mind that everything I do brings me one step closer to either bringing justice to their memories or to a peace that I can't be in."

The Guardian smiled as he said, "Very well."

"You don't need to look inside my mind, spirit. I don't tolerate others in something that is mine." Morrigan told the spirit in an 'end of discussion' tone of voice.

"Very well," The Guardian replied before moving onto Wynne.

"Wynne, you spout platitudes and comments you heard before from your mentors. Do you feel like you are nothing more than puppet that The Chantry speaks through?" The Guardian asked.

Wynne also thought about herself before replying, "I do wonder that on occasion. But I also know that I also know that I feel like I am right."

"Very well," The Guardian replied before moving onto Leliana.

"Leliana, you speak of this vision of yours as though The Maker speaks through you. Do you think that makes you better than The Prophet?" The Guardian asked.

"You think this is all for…attention?" Leliana asked with disbelief in her voice.

The Guardian waited for her answer.

"Leliana, you don't have to worry, it's not what you think it's going to be on your 'Maker' but what you believe." The Doctor said.

Leliana looked at The Doctor then at the floor as she thought about it before saying, "No, I don't believe that I would be an equal or better than Andraste. But I feel that The Maker guided me to these people."

"Very well," The Guardian said before moving on to Amy.

"NO! She won't be a part of this 'Self-examination'. If you want to question someone, question me!" The Doctor shouted as he moved in front of Amy.

The Guardian looked at both Amy and The Doctor before asking, "Do you agree with your companion, Amy?"

Amy looked at both The Doctor then The Guardian before saying, "Yes, I do."

"Very well," The Guardian replied before moving onto The Doctor.

"Lord Doctor, you do not have to take this first part of The Gauntlet if you choose." The Guardian said.

"No, you've practically asked everyone else their own questions it's my turn." The Doctor said, knowing that this 'Guardian' would dredge up old wounds.

"Very well, Lord Doctor; you've traveled with many companions…you've ran from one end of the universe to the next…you've grown so very old and even watched yourself become the singular member of a now extinct race of titans. The only thing I ask of you is this: Do you feel that you have failed in not only protecting those that you care or cared about…but also failure in protecting your race from itself?" The Guardian asked.

The Doctor chuckled before saying, "I once thought that as the only Time Lord left, I had the power to do anything I could think of that would be right. The universe showed me that a balance must be paid for every transgression made in time. Adelaide Brooke and her family paid the price for my mistake by her daughter witnessing her suicide. Time changed in a small way but it showed me that no one can do something like that with that kind of power or knowledge without a price to pay in exchange if it is used in less than honorable purposes. In the end…if I knew then what I did now…I would still do as I did, knowing that it has to be this way or else the universe would extract a more terrible price than I could afford to lose."

The Guardian smiled before saying, "Very well, Lord Doctor. All of you may pass."

Amy looked at the Guardian before asking, "What? Is that it?"

The Doctor looked at Amy and said, "Now, now Amy. Let's not tempt the nice hologram."

The group wandered past The Guardian and into another chamber, this time with eight 'ghosts' inside eight smaller areas in the chamber. The sextet had walked to the center of the chamber before The Doctor stood stock still.

Wynne looked toward the Time Lord before asking, "Doctor, what's wrong?"

The Doctor looked toward the eight holograms and said, "Not this time. You are not going to do it this time."

Amy looked at The Doctor and asked, "Do what?"

The Doctor turned to Amy and asked, "Remember The Dream Lord?"

Amy paled as she shook her head.

"Trust me…that was not the worst part of my own mind. And I hope…I really, _really_ hope, that what appears in that next room after we meet Teyrn Cousland." The Doctor said as he walked toward the door and waited for Tamara had finished going through the eight holograms and their questions.

When they were all answered (with help from The Doctor, of course) the door opened and standing inside the doorway was Teyrn Cousland, as The Time Lord had predicted.

Tamara was in shock as she walked up to the image of her father.

"Hello there, pup!" The image greeted her as she numbly waved her hand, still in shock.

The group took a couple of steps closer before Tamara had shaken herself from her shock.

"I'd say hello back…but I know that you're not real. You're just a figment of my imagination…a dream." Tamara told the mirage glumly.

The Image shook its head before saying, "I know that you know. But, from your memories, I was created to see if you still regret some event or moment in your life…namely, the death of your parents."

Tamara, in a moment of uncertainty, looked at The Doctor.

"I exposed my old wounds, now it's your turn." The Doctor said as he started scanning the next area with his sonic screwdriver.

Tamara took a deep breath before saying, "Yes, I do have a moment of regret. But, for the most part…I've gotten past it and have moved on. I'll always feel like I've disappointed my family by running instead of fighting. But, like I told The Guardian, I'll either have justice or peace one day."

The Image smiled before handing The Warden a necklace and saying, "Good, remember always not only what I've taught you…but of what the rest of the people of your life have taught you."

With its task done, The Image faded. When it had finished it's dissolve into nothingness, The Doctor walked up to Tamara and set his hand on her shoulder. No words were really said, as the both looked at each other for a moment. Both understood that they lost family members…both lived with the pain of moving on while their loved ones had met their final end.

Amy interrupted by asking, "Is that it?"

"No, we now face our darker fears…ourselves." The Doctor said as he started walking into the next room.

Entering the room, they saw an exact copy of themselves on the other side of the room, although the group staring back at them was like a dark reflection of themselves. The Alternate Wynne looked like she had gone mad ages ago. The Alternate Leliana had a cruel smirk on her face, like Marjolaine had when she had cornered someone when they were playing 'The Game'. The Alternate Morrigan looked like she had already been possessed by Flemeth. The Alternate Tamara looked like the Darkspawn Taint had taken a serious toll on her body while The Alternate Amy looked like something of a cross between the normal Amy and one of The Weeping Angels.

What shocked everyone was The Alternate Doctor…was female.

"WHAT!" The Doctor shouted as he looked at his Alternate Self.

Alternate Doctor smirked as she walked closer towards The Doctor.

"Surprised? Really, Doctor…did you think that thought never crossed our mind at least once." Alternate Doctor said with a kind of seductive lilt in her voice.

The regular sextet, minus The Time Lord, openly stared at his Alternate Self. This Alternate Doctor had dark brown hair that reached down to her back. Her eyes were like two chunks of blue ice and had a slightly frozen quality. She wore what looked like a black leather jacket, a deep red shirt, black cargo pants and black combat boots.

"What do we call you…The Dream Lord…The Valeyard…" The Doctor was asking his double before she laughed.

With the rest confused, The Alternate Doctor had reduced herself to a chuckle before saying, "Just call me The Darkness. Because that is what I am to you; I am everything you are not. The Dream Lord and The Valeyard were both parts of your darker nature but I am not only a mixture of the two, I am the both of them combined into a whole…the cunning nature of The Valeyard with the manipulative nature of The Dream Lord. That is what your true darkness is, Doctor. This is what you fear."

"Yes, but unlike both The Valeyard and The Dream Lord, you are just a projection…just an image. All I have to do is flick a button, and "POP" you're gone!" The Doctor said as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

The Darkness again smirked as she walked back to her dark sextet and said, "Yes, but you still wouldn't be able to answer one question…'_why?_'"

The Time Lord pushed a button on his sonic screwdriver causing The Alternates to disappear.

Amy, looking shocked at her Alternate Self, walked up to The Doctor and asked, "Doctor…what was that?"

The Doctor turned around and, with a smile, said, "Simple, Amy. That was an imager. It takes an image of whoever is in front of it or of the brainwave patterns of whoever crosses a certain point. It obviously scanned our brainwaves when we passed the doorway where Teyrn Cousland was and had created what we thought our dark reflections and fears would be."

The Doctor walked up to Wynne and said, "Fear of misusing your magic for your own purposes…simple."

He then went towards Leliana and said, "Worried that the life you led was not only addictive but that it would turn you into the person you loved, then hated the most."

He then walked over toward Morrigan and said, "Fear at becoming possessed by your mother…again, easy."

He then walked up to The Warden and said, "Turning into a mindless monster! Out of all that you saw with The Observer, that's your fear!"

"Well, I wasn't complaining at the time…Miss Doctor!" Tamara said back with a slight chuckle.

"Don't…" The Doctor said as he walked up to Amy.

"Fear of The Weeping Angels…" Amy said as The Doctor came up to her.

The Doctor nodded as he walked up to the next door and was going to go in.

"WAIT!" Morrigan shouted as The Doctor was leaving.

The Time Lord stopped and turned to answer any questions that the group had.

"Why did you fear being a woman?" Morrigan asked with a bit of amusement.

The Doctor took a quick breath before saying, "It's not being a woman that I'm afraid of. It's what The Darkness said. She is everything that I am against or am not. Physically, that's being a Time Lady. Deep down, it's being against everything I value or stand for: freedom, life…that sort of thing. She only cares about destruction and not caring about who she hurts along the way."

The group was momentarily stunned before walking into the next room. Said next room looked like something out of an Indiana Jones film: Big black chasm with no way across.

"Well, someone liked Indiana Jones." Amy said as she walked around the room.

That's when it clicked for The Doctor on who masqueraded as Andraste.

'_Impossible…she…no, just…no; she was always a stickler for law and order…even if she also knew when to bend the rules.'_ The Doctor thought as Tamara and the others were trying to solve the puzzle.

"Doctor, are you coming along now?" Leliana asked as she was crossing the bridge.

The Group walked into the final room with The Urn when they saw a wall of fire spring up from the floor.

Tamara, thoroughly annoyed with all the tests and puzzles she and her party had been though, shouted, "COME ON! HAVEN'T WE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH OF THESE TESTS?"

The Doctor walked up to the pedestal and waved his sonic screwdriver over it.

"Guardian, I think we can skip the last part of this test…don't you agree?" The Doctor asked before turning around to face said projection.

"Agreed, Lord Doctor; the imager had created a more than sufficient test when you met your darker selves." The Guardian said as he walked toward the flames.

"Normally, you would have to remove your worldly goods to pass the flames and meet the remains of The Bride of The Maker. But, as you have the blessing of one of The Chosen, you all may pass and see The Urn." The Guardian said before walking back to The Doctor.

"Lord Doctor…there is a key underneath the urn. This will allow you to enter The Vessel of The Maker and hear Andraste's final message to you." The Guardian said before walking up to The Urn of Sacred Ashes.

The hologram turned and said to the sextet, "My task is finally complete for now. I will wait for the next group of pilgrims to enter The Gauntlet."

The image of The Guardian faded into a ghostly image before disappearing altogether. The Group walked up to the urn before The Doctor picked it up and pulled a key off of the bottom of the urn. The Doctor handed the urn to Tamara before the sound of clapping entered their ears. They turned around and saw The Observer clapping and smiling before he pulled out a laser pistol.

"Thank you everyone for allowing me to get here. Now, give me the urn…or I'll destroy it, and utterly ruin the history of this little planet." The Observer said as he aimed his pistol at the urn.

Before anyone could do anything, three ash wraiths appeared behind The Observer…ready to kill him.

"Observer, look behind you!" The Doctor shouted toward the man.

"Nice try, Doctor!" The Observer said before starting to pull the trigger on his pistol.

The Ash Wraiths each grabbed The Fallen Time Lord. The last thing the group saw was a cloud of ash surrounding The Observer before a mummy-like corpse fell down to the ground. Stunned, the group watched the ash wraiths come together to form The Guardian, who simply nodded to the group before disappearing again.

"Damn…" The Doctor whispered before taking Amy's hand and running off toward the outside of The Gauntlet.

Tamara and the others turned back to The Urn in her hands and proceeded to take a pinch of the ashes inside to place in a pouch to take back to Arl Eamon. The group, minus Amy, expressed their joy (or disgust in Morrigan's case) at finding the legendary Urn of Sacred Ashes. As the group walked out of the temple, the noticed something that had not been there before: a rosebush standing out in the middle of the ruins beside the path leading to the temple.

As the sextet walked up to the rosebush, The Doctor and Amy emerged from right in the middle of it, The Doctor looking both distraught and angered at the same time.

"Doctor, what is it...what did you find." Leliana asked as she walked up towards the Time Lord.

The Doctor turned toward the group (minus Amy) and said, "Nothing to concern yourselves over. Amy went into the TARDIS. Now, I've had a great time, but...gotta go!"

Tamara walked up to The Doctor and asked, "Why so soon?"

"Simple, you've got a destiny to fulfill. I've got places to go, people to see, things to fix. Now, get going you. I'd imagine the good Brother would have a heart attack when he sees that." The Doctor said as he pressed a button on his sonic screwdriver and made the cloaking shield disappear.

The group were in awe when he opened it and said, "Maybe someday...but not yet."

_**Chapter 5 is done, AT LAST! Took me forever to plan this right. But there will be an epilogue as well as a teaser for next time. Disclaimer is all the way at the beginning.**_

_**Till Next Time.**_


	7. Epilogue

_**Epilogue: Inside Out and Upside Down**_

Inside the TARDIS, The Doctor was pressing buttons, twisting knobs, and twirling cranks as fast as he could so that they could leave before anything else could happen to disrupt the timeline.

"Why didn't we tell them what was inside that other TARDIS, Doctor?" Amy asked The Doctor.

The Doctor kept twisting knobs as he looked up and said, "Because, if they knew what was inside _her_ TARDIS, then this whole planet would unravel into millions of tiny 'who-knows' and 'what-would-happens' instead of the current course it was on."

Amy walked up towards the console and just looked at the center for a few minutes before turning and walking up toward her room. The Doctor kept pushing buttons on the TARDIS console until he was sure that Amy was safe in her quarters.

'Of _ALL _the Time Lords to survive...why did it have to be _HER_!' The Doctor thought as he set his destination for as far away as possible from this part of time.

_**Flashback**_

The Doctor and Amy entered the rosebush, the second TARDIS having recognized the key in The Doctor's hand, and the outside of The Gauntlet Chamber turned into an older TARDIS control room. The walls were decorated in a hexagon style with silver and bronze colors. At the center was an older TARDIS console, waiting to be used. Once The Doctor and Amy walked in, the lights came on and the console started to come online.

"What is this place?" Amy asked as she started looking around the older style control room.

"Just another TARDIS control room, only a little older. Sometime I'll show you the one's I have stored in mine." The Doctor said as he walked up to the console and started pressing buttons.

After a few seconds, a hologram of Romana's second regenerated form appeared in front of the console.

_"If you are receiving this message, Doctor, than what I have feared happened has taken place. The Time Lords have fallen as a civilization and as a species. The madness of bringing Rassilon into our present timestream had, to my utter lack of disbelief, driven the Panoptica to not only make him the new Lord President...but to approve plans to create a final solution to the end of the Time War. In response, I told a few of our friends hints to give to you. I thought that the long curly hair and the green coat suited you._

_But now, I had to run...just like you did all of those years ago. I landed here on Earth in their 'post empire building/pre death of the planet' phase. I've also take measures to hide what I need to hide from these people. To them, I'm their leader...their Prophet. I know it sounds like Rassilon and The Master, but I feel that it is required for some of the events that I was told will happen. She called herself Flemeth, but I knew that there was something more. I also know that someone will betray me soon, so I have a pair of measures ready: a transmat back here to my TARDIS and another chosen regeneration. I know that it will be some time before we see each other, but we will in the end._

_Good bye, my friend."_ Romana's image said before it shut down.

A noise sounded, like a death rattle from a dying animal. The Doctor looked up at the ceiling before he grabbed Amy and started for the door.

"What happened?" Amy asked as she was being dragged.

"Romana's TARDIS is dying, it's been unused for centuries before someone walked inside her." The Doctor said as he and Amy exited the TARDIS/Rose Bush.

The Doctor and Amy walked out just as Tamara and her group walked out of The Gauntlet Chamber.

_**End Flashback**_

The Doctor looked around once more before setting course for The Eye of Orion in the Second Age of Tranquility, his second favorite age on the planet. After setting course, he stepped back from the console and looked around in thought.

_'Romana...I'm sorry...I should have done something more...even taken up that damned position of Lord President...If only to keep the madness of the Time War in check.'_ The Doctor thought before walking towards the library.

_'Now, however, I have to stop The Reapers from destroying the universe again. And this time, I have to do this alone instead of with help from the Time Lords.'_ The Doctor thought as he entered the library and searched for a specific section.

As soon as he started, he found what he was looking for: _**Reapers and Their Artifacts by Professor River Song**_.

"Always knew that she would do great things...didn't know that I was married to her, but there you go." The Doctor thought as he put the book on the end table next to his favorite chair.

_NEXT TIME..._

_The darkness of cavern gave way to the glowing of the Lyrium in the stones around them._

_"Just who are you, stranger?" Varric asked as he looked around the cavern in surprise._

_The shadows in the darkness of the cavern whisper with madness and hunger_

_"What was that...blood magic?" Carver asked as the stones that made The Profane had collapsed._

_The chamber that contains the artifact glows as the whispers get louder and an evil glow emanates from the artifact._

_"Can you save my brother? Hawke asked as she looked on with worry._

_The Doctor turned around from looking at the vastness of the darkness, "Trust me...I'm The Doctor."_

_**The Doctor will return in...'Rest Stop: Primeval Thaig' **_

_**And that's the end of this story.**_

_**Don't forget to read and review.**_


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